Tampa Bay Vacation Planning Guide

Tampa Bay: Best Time to Visit

Regionally, Tampa Bay encompasses four cities — Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Bradenton. Tampa Bay is actually a body of water, the largest open-water estuary in Florida, covering nearly 400 square miles around these cities. While the television media has expanded their viewing area to also include Hernando County to the north and Sarasota County to the south, geographically Tampa Bay only includes these four cities.

Besides its unlimited outdoor recreational opportunities, including some of the nation's best beaches, Tampa Bay is unique in its diversity of available activities. Home to the African-themed Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, it also boasts major sports, museums, shopping and entertainment venues and water parks. If you're planning a vacation in the Tampa Bay area, learning a little bit about the area and what to expect will help you get the most from your time and vacation dollars.

If you are planning to visit the Tampa Bay area on vacation, one of the hardest things...MORE to do is choose when to visit. Other than the weather, special events and promotions tend to have the most influence on attraction crowds. The area's beaches trend toward being the most crowded during spring break and in the summer, of course. Use these month-by-month guides to Florida to give you more insight into when might be the best time of the year to visit. Or, you may prefer to plan your vacation around one of these popular events:

If you've decided to fly, you'll want to familiarize yourself with the airport and transportation options from the airport:

Tampa International Airport

St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport

If you're planning a vacation in Tampa Bay and you've never been there before, it is important to get to know the neighborhoods and learn how to get around. No matter how you are getting around town — rental car, cab or public transportation — these maps of the greater Tampa Bay area will be helpful.

And, finally, this driving distance chart will be helpful if you plan to visit Central Florida's attractions and beaches located along the East Coast of Florida.

Tampa Bay Beaches

Tampa Bay's beaches are some of the top in the nation, even making it onto Dr. Beach's annual Best Beaches in America list. If relaxing on sugar white sand under sunny skies sounds appealing and simply spectacular sunsets sounds romantic, then these top Tampa Bay beaches are for you!

Tampa Bay Cruises

Tampa is home to one of the nation's fastest growing cruise ports. The Port of Tampa is located in Downtown Tampa's Channelside District, adjacent to the Florida Aquarium. Passengers can book cruises to their favorite Mexican or Caribbean destinations and spend a day before or after their cruise exploring nearby attractions in Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay also offers a variety of dinner cruises, sightseeing cruises, sunset cruises and themed cruises that sail from marinas along the Bay and Gulf of Mexico.